'Wheelie Bin' Cat Owners Appeal For Calm

The owners of a cat at the centre of a media storm after a woman was caught on CCTV dumping it in a wheelie bin, have appealed for the public not to "take matters into their own hands".

Mary Bale, 45, angered animal lovers worldwide after she was captured on CCTV throwing four-year-old Lola into a bin outside her owners' home in Brays Lane, Coventry.

The owner of the rescue cat, Darryl Mann, 26, eventually freed the animal 15 hours later, after hearing it crying.

The footage of Ms Bale was then posted on social networking site Facebook in a bid to try and trace her, attracting hundreds of angry messages. A page on the site, calling for Ms Bale's death has now been removed.

Mr Mann's wife Stephanie told reporters that she only posted the footage on Facebook in order to identify the woman. She appealed for people not to "take matters into their own hands" and to allow the police and the RSPCA to deal with the incident. She added: "It needs to be dealt with properly, not by people getting aggressive with her."

Ms Bale, a bank worker, is facing prosecution from the RSPCA over the incident and has reportedly been offered police protection. Police community support officers had to be brought to her house after large crowds gathered outside, after she was identified.

On Wednesday, Ms Bale issued a statement apologising for her actions, which said that she was "profoundly sorry" for the incident.

(KMcA/BMcC)